An End to the Eternal War
by FantasyWriting
Summary: Two warriors united by fate. Similar and equal in strength. But even a war that's supposed to be endless can be ended by the impossible. Sometimes, admitting things could change fates set by the Gods. The female warrior he battled was irresistible in his eyes, and he could not help but fall for her in the end.


**A/N: So I've made many changes to this to make it make more sense.  
**

 **Caius: Hey Lightning... do you love roses or thunder?**

 **Lightning: ...**

 **Caius: Just wondering.**

 **Lightning: Well... I love rose petals thanks to Odin and Lightning is an amazing name and my favorite weather.**

 **Caius: ...You still did not answer my question, warrior goddess.**

 **Lightning: ...*Begins tapping chin and dazing into thoughts***

 **Caius: *Twitches an eye before sitting on the ground knowing how long he'll be here***

 **MOVING on from that...  
** **  
So... enjoy! :3**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FFXIII-2**

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 **An End to the Eternal War**

 _The rolling waves of Valhalla would rush back and forward for an eternity. So too would the relentless attacks of the two warriors, both filled with reason for their endless battle. An endless battle where the rose-haired warrior had killed him many times, she'd lost count eventually. It was an endless game where neither gave up, neither backed down._

Her graceful movements shifted here and there like the strong winds of any place but Valhalla; For here, there was no such wind to feel their faces on but the continuous swings of their blades. The young, rose-haired warrior landed on a rusty ruins, nothing more but more wreckage caused by her and Caius' never ending battle.

Her smug, formidable opponent landed hastily before her, that usual smirk of enjoyment always written across his face. His enemy was none other than this young, rose-haired woman, driven by endless determination to take him down. But such an easy goal was not so simple to conclude. In fact, it was utterly impossible. Lightning knew from the first time she'd impaled his thin flesh with ease when she'd caught him off guard, maybe a year-or an eternity ago. Who knows?

How could she defeat an enemy who couldn't be killed? It was an easy question she lacked the answer to. The two were destined to fight for eternity, both for the ones they loved most. They'd both tear the sky apart if it were to save them from death or worse undetermined fates to come.

Caius had known Yeul's endless, crushing fate. But this was his only chance to see the beautiful seeress happily without once dying. And to do that, he'd even destroy the world, _rip the sky_ mercilessly if it were just to see her like this. But despite such a goal, another thing was on his mind, and it was the beautiful woman he'd battled for an eternity about now.

 _It was coming back to him again... ever since his meeting with that goddess... most of his insanity was eliminated._

She had the beautiful azure hues of pure determination as strong as steel. Her cheeks had the lovely rose-colored blushing like the beautiful locks of her wavy hair seemingly stuck upon her shoulders like always, enhancing her lovely appearance. And then her attire-although she truthfully wasn't a goddess but a human blessed with unhuman strength from a realm beyond her own, Caius always thought of her as one, mixed as a warrior, beautiful than any other mortal he'd lay eyes upon.

Whenever the fated rivals would meet, before their battle would commence, they'd always look at each other, like an endless stare without a slight blink. And then _she'd_ start the battle with her inhuman magic mostly instead of him. But ever since their first battles, Caius would now usually toy with her, eyeing her graceful movements of either soaring in the weak, motionless winds of Valhalla, or watch her beautiful, light legs sprint her across a vast distance. Truthfully, if it hadn't been for the sake of the cursed seeress, fated to die on and on like the endless soars of birds traversing lands and Lightning being his destined enemy, he'd absolutely love learning about the mysterious, lovely lady's secrets.

They both had dark, frightful experiences before, and neither would back down from eternal battle, colder than the solid, firm steel of their blades. A woman as beautiful and strong as her did not deserve to die, didn't deserve to bear the impossible fate she had been doing for every second since she first arrived on the unwelcoming shores of the dead realm.

On the other hand, he wanted to protect poor Yeul, idea from idea until the eventual conclusion: Destroy the world just for her. Or else, he could never completely be with her, never protect her as long as she was a cursed, bound seeress shackled by fate, never figure out what she thought other than the futures she'd unknowingly seek before a death. An endless cycle each Yeul could not escape, one by one. Even with her, Caius still endured never-ending loneliness. It caused the seeds of anger to sprout within him, leaving him no other option but the one available. And not seeing her for a while, knowing she would never always be there to accompany him, he'd always felt so lonely, and this fight was all the company he could get, from the solitary, beautiful lady with intelligence, gracefullness and absolute loveliness. That's what lead to his secretive fondness of her. He couldn't resist. This was the other one Caius loved other than Yeul. And he didn't really like fighting her after so long now, because now he wasn't lonely thanks to her presence. He actually wanted to talk with her, figure out about her. But he never could. They were never destined to even come close to showing a liking for each other.

It was so difficult to hold all of his desire and truthfullness in for the beautiful woman he'd rather watch and enjoy than battle, and Lightning never realized this. He'd never counter attack any strike her steel, unbreakable sword landed on his. He'd just write that smirk of enjoyment on his face, and watch the graceful warrior goddess relentlessly throw attack after attack, magic or physical, it was all the same.

As Caius stood before the intellegent woman, she herself huffed of some exhaustion. But she wasn't on the verge of fainting. She wouldn't let her body rest until the end of each pointless battle. Unhesitantly, Lightning threw a pair of elemental attacks at her target and leaped off the ruins, her solid, delicate armor clapping as she neared her rival on the cold surface.

She expected her spells to throw him off balance or make him defenseless. Caius let out a snigger of enjoyment through his throat, blocking the first incoming attack with ease, his big sword simply stabbing in the ground to block it, and promptly evading the second with just as much little effort. He finished in no time to spot the fearless woman coming down upon him. She expected to crush his entire, cursed body into the solid ground. Once again, that was replaced by another block of their swords and another smug smirk from Caius.

It was pointless. Most of her battles were now like this - Caius meekly watching the woman, like it was a show, and now she swore whenever they crossed their steel blades, he'd take a good, quiet look at her. And now, he decided to change up the usual routine. The next second, Lightning felt a tight, warm and rough hand from Caius onto her wrist with her blade. Before she looked for opened, weakness points from Caius, her body descended down onto her armored feet. She had forgotten she was in midair, but Caius kept his firm, strong grip on her wrist anyway.

His strong grip feeling like it was crushing her wrist, squeezing the life force out of her hand like a bottle; she lost the tight grip of her blade. Caius' wicked smirk widened as he heard the blade collide onto the ground, but he kept his violet eyes locked onto her piercing icy hues. He enjoyed toying with her as far as this. Even though she had agility at her advantage, Caius' advantage was strength. Lightning was too focused to remove the overwhelming source of strength on her thin wrist before she realized - Caius easily gripped her other wrist with the shield too.

Her icy orbs widened in shock, the realization hit the struggling and gasping warrior's mind; She was bound by his rather overwhelming strength, and she was now just merely struggling to escape his grasp. It was quite odd, seeing the strong focused woman, caught in the tight grasp of her sneering rival, just enjoying himself from the whole start of this battle. The strong so-called-warrior goddess was faltering not too long after, and that was part of Caius' plan.

"Let...go!" She gasped in surprise, trying to pull away, her arms outstretched in a straight line as she visibly dug her armored heels with as much effort she could build up. But the ground benneath her feet was absolute solid, and her armored boots just slid easily across the rigid floor.

Still smirking Caius let out another snicker behind his curled lips of enjoyment. He had enough of hiding the secret feelings. He had to give her some hint of his true fondness for the rose-haired beauty. Besides the burden of many dying Yeuls, this woman had provided him company to say the least, good or bad. And heck, she was as beautiful as a rose, gracefully flying with Odin in previous battles through those lovely, crimson petals of bravery. But he knew he couldn't get too into her. Their fates forbidded such action. But he _really wanted to stop this endless battle just to know her._

 _Why? Because Etro removed his insanity a year ago. And ever since... different things came to his mind other than Yeul._

Now that he had her, still and listening as she still struggled to escape his grasp, he set both of her narrow, thin hands gently into one hand and with the other, outstretched it to feel her soft, delicate, rosy cheeks of fury. That concluded her struggle to escape, her icy hues expanded gradually at what her rival had done - something no enemy or rival had done, and the shock pierced her stronger than the merciless stings of arrows into her soft, fluffy heart. Her icy, fearless hues of intelligence finally focused on his amethyst ones of fury and anger for once.

Caius' expression gradually softened, to one of sympathy, calmness, and complete serenity. Lightning could not look away, could not take his hand off her cheeks of burning determination as it searched around her snowy, delicate face of beautifulness, determination and endless compassion. Her armor was as solid as indestructible crystal - but her snowy skin, only visible upon her face, neck, and other narrow openings through her armor like her slim legs, was as soft as the tufts of her thin, delicate feathers upon her waist of her silver armor of resistance.

Yeul's lifeless voice spoke within his mind softly, the same words of the 67th Yeul; _"Caius...move on. Achieve the impossible to finally be happy without losing one you love a lot. There's no hope for me...but if you achieve the impossible...even the goddess' power will lose hold of you and you'll be freed of immortality...somewhat."_ He wasn't sure why those words came back to him at his actions of touching Lightning. Perhaps a hint...

 _He took them the wrong way the last time. He thought he'd achieve the impossible by destroying Etro thus destroying the world...but now it didn't seem right..._

 _By completing the impossible, the Guardian of the cursed seeress would be freed of his endless curse at last. That was Etro's promise the last year in Valhalla._ But...achieve the impossible? How?

His palm brushed like the wind against the rose-haired beauty's face, and they never realized that his grip on her wrists loosened to the point where he was no longer gripping her wrists but instead used that hand to stroke her gentle, messy strands of beautiful rosy hair. Lightning knew this was her enemy, but at his current actions, she couldn't feel hate and anger drive her to attack him once again. His calmness rather softened her suffering heart, and the touch of his hands upon her smooth face felt like the hugging sensation she'd get when she'd hug Serah, as comfortable as it."Warrior Goddess." His voice was the same, but his face wasn't. That was the name he'd usually scoff at her, provoking her into anger. But this time, it was unlike those times.

 _Lightning was someone erased from history only to be pulled in an endless, cruel and fated battle. Part of her hated it while the other half accepted destiny. Claire Farron was suffering from the hurt. Lightning accepted reality and fought for eternity. Two opposite sides residing within the same body. Deep within her, she suffered, day by day in the timeless realm. She was lonely only when the one in front of her wasn't here. Whenever she realized that, she quickly shook it out of her mind, but now... Caius was clearly mending her suffering heart. She understood his suffering just as much. Just the thought of losing one you care so much about... the one thing that hurts more than death is losing someone dear to your heart._

 _Was Caius... really accepting reality? If so... she was glad. She noticed the rapid change in heart from that year he spoke with Etro. Even she, just like him, fell in love unexpectedly day by day. She knew she was the only one attacking while he was eyeing her movements through the timeless winds of the dead realm. She wasn't silly. While Lightning told herself to pull it together, Claire was rather falling in love. Why couldn't both of her sides come to a conclusion now?_

 _Lightning didn't resist anymore. She knew the desire came upon her that year. She... felt sympathy and something else for him. A feeling she never experienced before because she locked herself away to be strong. And now..._

Their hues stayed locked on one another's, and Lightning's mind fell completely at ease. She let his smooth, comforting words get to her, both of them forgetting they had the endless battle in an instant, or why they had it. For her, it was Serah. For him, it was the cursed seeress. They had a similar reason, and they realized they'd do the same thing or anything to protect them from harm. And that led to the battle they'd had for an endless eternity.

"A _beautiful Warrior Goddess you are..."_ Caius mused, taking the hand off her cheek and shifting it behind her slim waist, pulling her close with his other hand still stroking her soft, sensitive tufts of hair and then moving silently to the back of them. Neither of them questioned the ongoing actions, seemingly impossible for the protector of the goddess and the one aiming to destroy the timeline to even think of.

The look of her beautiful piercing eyes almost compelled him to remove his mind of the eternal insanity he'd felt ever since the 67th Yeul died. Her speech was supposed to compel him to leave her be so she could at last die and rest in peace. He finally understood somehow, because now that he could see his opponent's true beauty at last, it reminded him of the azure haired beauty that didn't deserve to die countless times.

And even when the world was destroyed, it was almost more like a mere illusion where him and Yeul could be together forever - but just an illusion. A meaningless fake. That wasn't what he wanted, but he eventually fell into insanity anyway. Destroying the world would kill countless people's lives in grief, where even they let their loved ones go. An innocent place where they accepted truth - as he could not. _Caius Ballad finally understood._

 _Yeul pleaded him not to waste any time on her; To move on and let the past be._ But Caius just became selfish, fueled with insanity. He'd throw down many lives he thought as useless: lives who had feelings like his. He was one person. The world was tons of innocents, and he was going to throw it away like it was nothing just for the sake of one life. Except Yeul's life wasn't just one. Each one's was a cursed one, not deserving a death. So Caius had hope - and this was his last chance to see her freed and living a normal life at last. At first... it seemed right. But after his talk with Etro that day... it felt well enough like madness only a madman would think of.

And Lightning's beautiful face allowed him to rethink the sin. It was the fact they were more similar than they thought. He had to move on and accept the truth. It was truthfully one of the most hardest things he'd done, utterly impossible if he was alone. But he wasn't. The beautiful woman was there for him, and he was there for her. It was possible as long as he wasn't alone. And there was a way to solve his immortality problem. Yeul's speech told him that - _make the impossible possible._

The battle was pointless, and death in the world of Valhalla was pointless. He pulled the woman close, his height almost towering over her. He gently rested her head upon his chest, and everything to the young warrior goddess seemed to slow at ease, forgetting this was her enemy whom she rested her head on his chest. His jaw was resting on her soft, rosy hair that also stranded on her shoulders.

It was called moving on. If he completed the impossible, he'd no longer be the Guardian, thus being freed of his immortality that caused him to be lonely, and secretly put an end to Yeul's endless suffering. _The right way to save her._ That was her message from the start. It was hard to accept, but Caius put the pieces together the right way now.

 _He just couldn't be with her, and it pained him so much to admit it to himself now. He loved everything about each Yeul, and now...he just realized the correct way to save her without hurting no one. Free her of her suffering by letting her rest in peace. He deeply wanted to end it with him and her living happily together...but it just wasn't possible. He could only be freed of Etro's merciless curse, and as long as he was immortal, Yeul would keep being reborn again and again, thus suffering again and again. This was the only way to set things right... even if the future was uncertain without the girl. Now he realized the truth of Etro's talk with him that day. She gave him this one last chance; to free himself and the girl. One would live and one would die; for good._

 _Without his insanity to ruin his mind, he felt what others felt. A feeling worse than death. Worse than those last moments you live before you stop breathing. The feeling when you lose someone dear to your heart; one you promised wouldn't keep dying. Second by second, Caius gained the feelings of a human. He was going to kill many just for a selfish desire. No one would think of such a sin but him. All he thought about those centuries was just Yeul by Yeul. That was it. But now... he understood other humans had things dear to their hearts as well. It wasn't fair if Caius didn't accept reality. He had to move on... and be with someone else; the woman he once hated whom he eventually came to fall in love with after that talk with Etro last year._

 _He was lucky he wasn't... alone. Day by day, it was him and this beautiful woman, so beautiful she could be a deity herself. And day by day, after his insanity was removed, he fell in love with everything about her; from her beauty, to her passion and to her determination flaring within her._

"Yeul...is gone." He meekly accepted, taking the other hand off her soft, feathery hair and using it to cup her soft, milky chin with just as much snow-like skin around her smooth body. He forced her icy, pale hues of gentleness onto his violet ones. "So you finally admit it..." Lightning meekly sighed, realizing the impossible had happened. The war was probably ending, which really shouldn't have been possible, but it was happening.

 _It was all ending because of that gamble the goddess herself decided to use on the one holding her heart. It was more like... a miracle. Because in truth, the war was pointless. If Caius' heart, or rather, Etro's, was stabbed, it was the end of everything. An eternal war, being ended with aid of goddess Etro. But the decision was Caius Ballad's himself. Had the insanity remained within him, he'd still be aiming for the goal he once desired; for Yeul to live a normal, happy life with him. It would heal his own wounded heart if another miracle happened. One where she'd come back... even though the chances of that happening weren't even close to being possible. He had to hope... one day, she'd return, even if it was deemed impossible. His heart moved forward._

 _With the blink of an eye, Caius made his decision. Either one would get people killed. He could let his insanity flow once more and kill many... or he could accept reality and let his beloved... live in peace._

 _It was decided._

Caius no longer wanted to send the world to destruction for somebody with an endless curse. He might've regreted greatly it after, but Yeul's words mused over in his head. If it wasn't what she'd want, he had to spend time with someone else. And this beautiful woman before him was the perfect one to do that. She'd keep him company, even if she didn't want to.

" _My beautiful warrior Goddess."_ His voice echoed meaningfully, the two warriors forgetting their battle and just focusing on one another. Refusing to resist him as he stroked her beautiful hair and kept his other arm on the back of her waist, Lightning silently sighed in tiredness, shut her icy hues shut softly and gently rested her head on his seemingly warm and comforting chest once more, gently wrapping her soft armored arms around his own waist.

He was old, immortal. She was young, mortal. Emotion couldn't sway his actions. Emotion could sway her, however. "Please...be with me..." He sounded entirely desperate, like he could not live forever without losing someone...unless...

"You mean...become _immortal just to be with you?"_ Then, it struck the woman harder than a bolt of lightning itself. If Caius was lonely, the cursed seeress would probably try to accompany him as much as she could before another death. "Yeul can no longer accompany me, and so it leaves..." He stuttered to get the next words out, because until now, he and her had been through endless, pointless fights where he secretly held affection for the beautiful woman.

"Me?" A surge of disbelief and anger almost filled her head, but she resisted, because she knew. Caius Ballad loved fighting this graceful, smart woman, so much he had secretly fallen in love with everything about her. But he did not want to pull her into his business. Other than turning her immortal, they could both...

The realization hit them like a bolt of lightning. _Or they could become eternal epitaphs, both memories of their loved engraved within their memory._

Caius gently placed both of his hands behind the beautiful woman's head, full of pink, smooth hair drifting softly. "No...instead, we can end our battle...and crystallize, and see how long an eternity truly is, beautiful warrior goddess." Lightning was surprised to hear those very words slip from his mouth. But an eternal epitaph? It was sudden, sleeping ageless years with the one she should call enemy. But now that they had ended the fighting, this was the best they could do.

He cupped her soft, precious chin and stared into her beautiful orbs once again. "But...it's better than an eternal battle where we're forced to hate each other. And maybe...just maybe...we'll awaken someday...an eternity from now..."

"But that's-" She stopped immediately as fast as she began. "My warrior goddess...who knows? Maybe we'll reawaken sooner than we think...or after millions to billions of years..." Lightning didn't know what to think. In order to keep the world from being destroyed, she'd have to be with him - yet it felt good rather than battle her no-longer rival. A seed of more than likeness sprouted from within the rose-haired beauty, and at last, she accepted with a nod. She hadn't felt like this in years since she locked herself away. And because of that, she was just as lonely as him, especially here. And she actually hated being lonely more than anything else. They were two lonely warriors, with no company but each other. _Were these two...meant to be after all?_

They loved each other now, and it was seen as they stared into their beautiful eyes for what seemed an eternity. At last, both their expressions, every last pinch of hate gone, had softened, Lightning staring worriedly into his own worried amethyst hues. It was like they had never even battled in the first place, as if they were destined to love instead of hate. Two similar beings, united by battle, concluding to love through sleep. But that wouldn't keep them apart from one another.

Slowly, the two sat gently on their knees, facing one another with a glimmer of hope and love in their beautiful eyes. Caius' thick, rough fingers clenched around Lightning's thin, squishy ones. And they were close, their knees gently touching each other at the end. But before they began, before Lightning knew it, he planted a firm kiss right onto her rosy lips - a message that he truly loved her. He'd leave his beautiful seeress. She'd leave her beautiful sister, who she'd never seen for so long. And that would bring about endless remorse, but they knew what they had to do.

Without thinking, she let him do his work, her neck slightly tilting at the surprising touch. It was for three minutes. Exactly that long before they released their stubborn smooch, glaring at each other just as worriedly before their kiss, their hands still clenched.

The day came, an unexpected day in the dead realm of Valhalla. The two warriors, young and old, gradually lowered their heads, their hands clenched as they sat on their knees. They then flittered their eyes shut, and began chanting in sync the words of their endless, dreamless sleep as dark as death.

 _"We fall into the dark, unescapable sleep of death, and we have only each other to accompany. Someone to trust when we dream our dreamless thoughts of possible remorse..."_

 _The warriors began to gleam and shine, the outlines of their skin glowing a beautiful icy-like color, soft, untouchable sparkles emerging from within. But despite the beautiful scenery as they hold each other close on their knees, they pay no heed as they continue chanting, their hues remaining shut the entire time. Lightning prays her beloved sister lives as long as she can - Caius prays Yeul finds peace at last now that she can rest in peace._

 _"We hold one another, we wish for peacefullness by sleeping an endless, eternity. Let us rest until the end of time, for we wish to conclude the eternal war, goddess Etro."_

 _Swirls like banners of the same icy color swirl and glide around them to enhance the beautiful scene. A unexpected possible future - in this alternate universe where the two enemies fell in love to end their pointless war._

 _To this day, the two fond of each other sleep a crystal sleep as dark as death, thinking every passing year of their loved ones, and their eternal love for each other. When one feels it's an eternal torture and wishes for an end, the other urges them to pull themselves together. And if the untold sleep never reaches its conclusion, they remain a cold, merciless statue - a symbol that even enemies could come to the opposite._

 _Now the seeress can finally rest in peace, no longer burdened by the lonely one's presence. He has someone who will be at his side no matter what. And that person was once his enemy._

 _If their cold, dark sleep reaches its eventual conclusion, they remain ageless and live on. Almost immortal, yet different. As they will no longer age through their awakened times, they can still be killed. Through this sleep Caius Ballad will be freed of his immortality, because he learned to love his enemy. But now Lightning will be cursed, as will he with a new one. That will be their reward if they can reach five hundred years of sleep. But if they both beg to end their sleep before many years - no conclusion will come, and they shall be an eternal tomb, hidden in the dead realm of Valhalla. A risky gamble to test their love._

 _Caius Ballad. Lightning Farron. Different but similar. Fighting for the ones they love. Ending with a sleep as dark as death. Etro's eyes are not lying. Here, time was nothing. Five hundred years could be shorter than they think. If Valhalla is a different realm, then five hundred years in the world would not pass. It would be a mere year, where here, in Valhalla, years were hours. But the sleep - it would feel as slow as five hundred years in the world._

 _Now the two eternally rest, not knowing the future awaiting them. But they have each other - enough to keep them company even if it was their last sleep. Warrior Goddess and Guardian keep each other's hold, sleeping with precious memories locked into their tombs of their statue._

 _Their love wouldn't come apart even in this sleep. They'd never forget anything more precious. Death wouldn't keep them apart either. Two warriors - destined to be a motionless statue - or soon fight side by side in the incoming future, chronologically five hundred years old for Lightning, still twenty one logically._

 _No matter what, they'd love each other, whatever came upon them in their unknown future. Warrior Goddess and Guardian - together to the unknown end. ~_

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 **Author's note - I've wrote some fan fictions, but this is the first one I'm actually releasing to the public for once. So I'm sorry if some mistakes are apparent.**  
 **But this took me two days - mostly because I was tied on reading fanfictions of this beautiful couple. I wrote it out as if it was a fate for them to fall in love in this alternate universe, like they didn't remember their battle. There might possibly be a sequel on this, because I did throw in some hints. The reason I made time pass faster in Valhalla was of course so Lightning's friends wouldn't die of age since Etro hadn't been killed. There's a LR familarity, where after their sleep, they live for eternity until they eventually get killed by anything. Their love is what unknowingly frees Caius from his immortality - making the impossible possible; falling in love with his enemy. But they'll still be reborn even after death, unlike LR. And as you can see, where this is going, it's greatly going to be different in what you'd expect from Caius x Lightning, but I made him kiss her because it was a oneshot where I decided to add a sequel to it. I was tired while writing this, but I'm glad if you enjoyed it anyway! Reviews are appreciated!**


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